Is Your "Natural" Baby Product Really Natural?

Have you ever wondered whats in your child's body wash or toothpaste?  Or even your sun screen and make up kit?

EWG Skin Deep

Launched in 2004, Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Skin Deep Cosmetic Database is an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products.  Skin Deep aims to help people find safer products, with fewer ingredients that are hazardous or that haven't been thoroughly tested. The Database fills in where industry and government leave off. Companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish, while the U.S. government doesn't review the safety of products before they're sold. You can search more than 69,000 products at the Skin Deep database!

You can also follow Skin Deep on Facebook. 

Kids Consignment

Have your kids grown out of a closet full of clothes overnight?  What do you do with their hardly used clothes? 

KiDtoKiD

KidtoKid is a consignment store where you can convert your kids stuff in to $cash$ by selling their gently used clothes, toys, and furnishing.  They also sell all the great brands you and your kids have grown to love, including Abercrombie, Limited Too, Gap, and Gymboree!

KidtoKid is located in Greenbrook, NJ and  has 74 other locations (as of December 2011) - all over US (and also Portugal!).

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You can also explore central NJ's largest consignment sale at Kidzsignments! Sales are organized twice a year in  Edison, NJ - October, and Flemington, NJ.

New2YouKids also offers twice a year consignment sales (September and March).  Check out their website for Spring 2012 sale details.

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Kids Consignment Sales

Kids Consignment Sales is a great resource to look up consignment stores and sales through out US and Canada.  Click here to find a consignment sale near you!

Little Hands Making Big Discoveries @ Bricks 4 Kids





Bricks 4 Kidz



Get creative with the bright, colorful LEGO® bricks of every size and description your child can imagine at Bricks 4 Kidz®.  This creativity center is a safe, fun, enriching place for children of all ages.  Kids learn, build and play, while developing teamwork, creativity, and problem solving techniques.  Bricks 4 Kidz® offers after school programs, as well as Mommy-and-Me classes for preschoolers.  

Bricks 4 Kidz also allows you to experience a novel birthday party with the LEGO® bricks.  For more information click here.

Bricks 4 Kidz® has locations in Jersey City, Hoboken, Southern New Jersey and Jersey Shores.  You can also find them at various places through out US and Canada. 

When You Are Expecting Multiples...

What is the go to book for a mommy to be, you ask?  Most of my friends have referred to What to Expect When You Are Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel!  This is an excellent book walking your through each step of your pregnancy!

However, what do you do when you are expecting multiples?  Some of the question you may face are... How much weight do you need to gain (say 50 lbs?) and how do you bulk up on those super extra calories?  How do you find a Maternal/Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist - doctor?  How do you handle months of bedrest and possible complications (to name a few: early on set of Gestational Diabetes, Intrauterine Growth Restriction, Twin to Twin Transfusion, Preterm Labor)?  What to possibly expect in the NICU (... Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).  How do you survive the first several months of multiples at home? 

When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads

You can find answers to  the above questions in Dr. Barbara Luke's, When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads. Dr. Luke outlines a practical, nutrition-based program to keep Mommy and  babies healthy during this unique pregnancy experience! Besides the nutritional information, she also offers a comprehensive tour of what you can expect during the pregnancy and childbirth. Women who have followed Dr. Luke's guidelines, have had significantly fewer complications during pregnancy - and their babies are born weighing 20 to 35 percent more than the average twin, triplet, or quad.

Dr. Luke also has a website, where you can find answers to many of your questions. 

This book was truly a blessing in our journey through the twin pregnancy.  It gave us an insight about the possible issues we could have faced and prepared us for asking the right questions to our medical team at the right time. 

Joann Fabric & Craft - Kids Studio!

Joann

Joann Fabric and Craft Store organizes cake decoration, crafting and sewing/knitting classes at their Kids Studio for children 5 years and up!

Find the closest location to you - here!  Currently, you can save up to 50% on select classes!

You can also Make it a Party at Joann!  Joann leads the birthday parties, while your kids have unlimited fun!

Experience Free Art & Culture Events With Target

Target Art & Culture

Through Target's Community Outreach Program, you can visit local art, cultural events and museums in cities around US (including places like Boston, Tampa, Dallas, Portland...) for free/reduced price.  In NYC, you can experience places like: The Children's Museum of Manhattan, MoMA, Carnegie Hall on certain days of the month (including weekends).

You can also explore their reading, volunteerism, crisis relief, social service events here.

Kids Event at Pottery Barn

From holiday story times to pajama parties... or a weekly story time (every Tuesday morning) to National Geographic Little Explorer's event... Find your closest Pottery Barn Kids and explore their book club and kids event!

Child Friendly Cinema Cafe!

Dunellen Theater & Cinema Cafe, located at 458 North Ave, Dunellen, NJ 08812 (contact: 732-968-9010) offers a unique child friendly atmosphere. Your entire family can enjoy family oriented and children's movies, and a tavern style dinner at a very reasonable cost.

Tickets:

Adults (12+): $7

Senior Citizens & Children (11 & under): $5

The theater also offers birthday party packages.  For more information, click here!

You can also find them on Facebook.

Free Kids Workshop at Lowes & Home Depot

Have you ever thought of building an outdoor play house or a bird feeder... or simply designing and painting a playroom with your kids?  Check out the FREE Kids Workshop at Lowes & Home Depot!

Workshops at The Home Depot stores are held 1st Saturday of every month between 09:00 am and 12:00 noon.  The DIY workshop is designed for kids age 5-12.  All kids get to keep their craft and receive a FREE Kids Workshop Apron, commemorative pin and certificate of achievement.

Give your child the opportunity to say, "I built it!" at the Lowes Build and Grow kid's clinics organized every Saturday's at 10 am.  Each participant also receives a free apron, goggles, a project themed patch, and a certification of merit upon completion of their project.

A Bible to Breastfeeding Mothers!

When women get together and start swapping stories of the days when their babies were small and the subject of breastfeeding comes up, chances are at least one woman will say, "I couldn't make enough milk, so I had to quit nursing".  If the subject changes quickly, no one gets to hear the sadness behind those words or the questions that could be asked: "What happened? Did anyone give you a reason?"  That's where this book comes in to picture, The Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk, by Diana West, IBCLC, and Lisa Marasco, M.A., IBCLC. Almost like a bible to breastfeeding mothers, above, are the forewords from the same book!

Facing the challenge of raising twins, I knew there was a chance that I could face problems with milk supply.  Thanks to a couple of my online twin Mommy friends, I chanced upon this book and read every page of it before my twins arrived.  I could successfully and exclusively provide for my twins till 8 months (no supplementing with formula), and then until I stopped at 10 months!  I can not review this book in any better words than the above mentioned fact!  

 

The book covers topics including but not limited to: supply and demand, hormones, lifestyle, working moms, galactogogues (milk supply enhancing herbs and medicines), pumping, prematurity, baby behaviour due to physiological or genetic abnormalities, mother's emotional well being, assessing and planning for next pregnancy... and many more such topics.  The author also has a website which can provide you with more information - see here.

Some other good resources for breastfeeding and parenting are:

Kelly Mom

La Leche League 

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Every individual is biologically different, and nursing experience can never be the same for every Mother.  Unfortunately, most women enter motherhood with the presumption that nursing is a very natural act, which is not always the case.  It takes a lot of determination and perseverance, along with a strong family support!  And finally, no matter what the outcome is, what matters most is a healthy-happy Mommy and Baby! 


Are there any breastfeeding books, forums or websites you would refer to a new Mom?  Please feel free to share!

Bilingual Kids

Recently, there was an article in New York Times --- Hearing Bilingual: How Babies Sort Out Language (October 10, 2011), which very well describes how bilngualism develops and benefits young mind.

Are your kids Bilingual?  How do you teach them two languages?  What language do you introduce any new object in?  How has bilnigualism changed with age/time? 

Would love to hear about your experience!

Jumping Jacks!

Pump It Up, The Inflatable Party Zone

Jumping, bouncing, structured play, art work... or a birthday party!  Pump It Up has it all, and can be found in NJ at Randolph, Freehold, Marlton, Secaucus, Piscataway (coming soon), Hamilton and Roselle Park. 

Pump It Up also has several locations through out US. (check locations here!)

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The Jumping Jungle, Where Kids Can Monkey Around

The Jumping Jungle was voted as the BEST place for Kids' Birthday Parties, BEST Family Recreation Facility and BEST Indoor Amusements!!

The Jungle is located at 10 Alvin Court, Suite 100 in East Brunswick, NJ 08816 ((732) 613-JUMP (5867)).  The jungle is open Wednesday and weekends and by reservations.  Please visit their website for more details.

The Children's Museum @ Bridgewater, NJ - Schedule

Schedule for 2012 at The Children's Museum in Bridgewater, NJ is up on their website (click here).

Events will be held on the weekend and include:

Rainforest Canopy (January 8)

Journey Back in Time: Rocks, Mineral, and Dinosaurs (January 15)

Science Magic Day, With Annual Fruit Rolling Competition (February 5)

Let's Get Going! Mostly Trains and Automobiles (February 18)

Music From Many Cultures (March 4)

Astronomy & Flight Day (March 17)

Robots II (April 1)

Game & Puzzle Day, With a Scavenger Hunt (April 21)

Somerset County Fair (August 8)

The Museum is located at The PeopleCare Center, 120 Finderne Avenue, Bridgewater, NJ (just south of Rt 28).

$3/per child donation is suggested for visitors.  The Museum can be reached at somersetcminfo@gmail.com or via phone at 908-595-0001.  You can also find them on Facebook.

I will be putting up reminders as the event dates get closer!